Time flies when you’re surviving the apocalypse. Naughty Dog has been reflecting on the ongoing success of its The Last of Us franchise today. Thanks to a new blog post from Naughty Dog co-president Neil Druckmann, we’ve also been given a new glimpse at the studio’s upcoming The Last of Us multiplayer title.
Alongside a sneak peek at the game’s new concept artwork, Druckmann explains that fans of The Last of Us can expect to be given further details on the new multiplayer game later this year. Described as being an “ambitious” project, The Last of Us multiplayer game will be deeply anchored in The Last of Us game universe, but will take the form of a standalone story. A new cast of characters will also be featured in the currently in-development multiplayer title, marking a detour from the series’ main protagonists Joel and Ellie.
The blog post predominantly serves to reflect on the journey of The Last of Us as it gears up to mark its tenth anniversary later this year. The franchise will turn ten in June, and it sounds as though Naughty Dog is planning to drop some further insights into where The Last of Us can go next in the summertime. Druckmann also reveals in the update that as of the end of December 2022, the entire The Last of Us franchise has sold more than 37 million copies across the world.
It’s clear that there’s still a lot of life in The Last of Us as a franchise as far as Naughty Dog is concerned. Druckmann explains a bit more about the talent working on the upcoming multiplayer title in the update. “With a team led by Vinit Agarwal, Joe Pettinati, and Anthony Newman,” he explains, “the project is shaping up to be a fresh, new experience from our studio, but one rooted in Naughty Dog’s passion for delivering incredible stories, characters, and gameplay.”
The new concept art depicts the wreck of some kind of gigantic cruise liner moored against the ruined remnants of an urban area, with survivors heading towards it. Whether or not this kind of environmental art should give clues as to the potential wider setting of the game is purely speculative. Either way, it looks pretty spectacular and should serve only to further heighten the anticipation for the new multiplayer project.
There’s still plenty for The Last of Us fans to get excited about this month too, with the HBO television adaptation of the story soon to air on January 15.
Elsewhere, The Last of Us Part One will be heading to PC on March 1 after its successful launch on PlayStation consoles. There’s clearly a lot more to come from this universe, even ten years down the post-apocalyptic road.